The Rise of the Red Arrow
by DarkCrono915
Summary: After having his death faked yet once again, Roy Harper moves to the city of Paragon to start a new life...for the third time. He promises himself that this time will stick, and that he is forever done with his Vigilante ways, but that is a promise he just won't be able to keep. This is the story of how Roy Harper gives up on having a normal life, and becomes Red Arrow.
1. Welcome to Paragon

**THE RISE OF THE RED ARROW**

 **Chapter One**

 _ **Welcome to Paragon**_

After all that happened with Calculator, Roy Harper decided it was time again for a move. After being saved in Star City by team Arrow, Roy decided to leave his life in Hub City and find a new one. After hitch hiking far, he had finally made it to the large city of Paragon.

Paragon was bigger then Star City, which Roy was grateful for because all he wanted to do was blend in and not be known by anyone. His days as Arsenal were over. He wanted to live a normal life, keep his head down, and stay out of trouble. To start, or restart, his normal life, the first thing Roy would need, is a job.

Upon entering Paragon, Roy paid a couple dollars at a news stand for the local Newspaper. Typically he would have done his job searching online, but he didn't yet have a computer, so he would have to do it old school. With the help of Felicity, Roy had found a real small and cheap apartment on the outskirts of Paragon. Now that he had a place to live, he needed to find a job. In the help wanted section, Roy saw an ad out for a car mechanic, and he knew this was the perfect job.

It was a cold winter afternoon, as Roy found himself standing in front of Alan's Automotive Shop. It had a very "hole in the wall" repair spot vibe to it, which Roy was excited to see. The hole in the wall places never ask questions, and this part of town reminded Roy of his home back in the Glades.

The young man walked into the shop and found the front desk. There was a mammoth of a man working the cash register. He had a buzz cut, blond hair, intense hazel eyes, and muscles upon muscles on his body. When it was Roy's turn in line, the man looked down at him and very gruffly spoke, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could talk to the owner of this place about getting a job." Roy spoke, still taking a moment to appreciate how large this fellow was.

"The name's Alan Trevit." The mechanic spoke, "And I run this place….so feel free to start talking."

"Well I have experience with cars and have worked at several mechanic spots over the country." Roy replied. "I've heard I am a hard worker and a quick learner..."

"Hmm..." Alan thought as he scratched his chin and scruffy face. "As it turns out we just had to let one of our own go earlier this week, so there's an opening. You look like you'd be good under a hood, but I don't got time to deal with punks….got it? I'm former military so I run a tight ship around here. If you're good with being on time and working hard, I got a job for you. You can start tomorrow/"

"Just like that?" Roy asked, surprised that there wasn't any kind of application process or anything.

"Yeah, what'd you expect kid?"

"I don't know..." Roy responded a bit dumbfounded. "I mean, that's great!"

"Seven AM sharp tomorrow, don't be late." Alan said as he turned and walked away from Roy. As he left, Roy noticed the man had all kinds of tattoos and scars all over his body.

" _Maybe he has a past too."_ Roy thought to himself, _"_ _It's good to work under a guy that doesn't want people checking into him as well."_

That night Roy laid on his mattress in his barren and dark room thinking. This would be his third attempt at trying to have a normal life and staying under the radar, and he hoped it would work out this time. He was tired of being on the run. He missed home, but Roy knew he couldn't return to Star City. He wanted this place to become a new home, because he was beginning to forget what that felt like.

Roy's thoughts were interrupted by a loud crashing noise heard from outside. Roy jumped out of his bed and listened to see if he could hear more. There was yelling, and some kind of commotion, so without thinking twice, Roy threw on his red hoodie (because it was cold outside, of course), and left his apartment.

Outside and down the stairs, Roy saw three men in black leather coats pushing around a young man, while a little girl was watching in horror. The man being beaten had thick glasses, shaggy brown hair. He was shorter, and definitely appeared defenseless.

"Are you getting our message, Nerd?" One of the thugs spoke, as he kicked the man in the stomach. "Do you read us loud and clear?"

"Hey!" Roy yelled, as he hopped down the staircase and landed on the ground, pulling his red hood over his face. "He seems a bit distracted right now. Why don't you share the message with me and I'll see if I can pass it along to him later"

"Don't try to be a hero, kid." One of the ruffians pointed at Roy and yelled, "It won't end well for you."

"There's being a hero..." Roy spoke, "And then there is teaching a few low lifes a lesson...they are very different. I'm no hero, but I'll make you wish one came for you!"

At this, the three men got off the hurting man in the glasses and rushed towards Roy swinging. With ease, Roy dodged the punches and sent a few of his own in their direction. He knocked one man in the chest and threw him into the wall. To another, he kicked square in the face and knocked him to the ground. The third pulled out a switchblade and slashed at Roy, who quickly disarmed the man and hit him hard in the throat knocking his wind out.

The three thugs fought for a little bit, but then realizing they were wildly outmatched started to run away from the alley the apartments were located on.

"You just wait, you worthless punk!" One of the men yelled back, "Ain't nobody mess with the Wolf Pack like this and gets away with it! You just signed your death certificate! You hear me! You're DEAD Man! D...E...D... DEAD!"

"Yeah," Roy spoke casually as the thugs retreated, "Here's to hoping you kill people as good as you spell." He then remembered about the young man who was getting beat up, and Roy turned his attention to him. "Hey man, are you okay?"

"Yes..." The man spoke, as he put his glasses back on his face and stood up, brushing the dirt off his kacki's. Based off his dirtied up white dress shirt and slacks, he clearly was coming home from work from an office job. "Thank goodness for you coming here when you did….Those bullies might have hurt my sister if I didn't step in, but you saw how good that was..."

"What was their beef with you?" Roy asked, helping the man to his feet, as the little girl ran and hugged her brother.

"They...They just want me to do some things I don't want to do." He spoke as he looked at Roy for the first time. "So um….Are you new to the complex?"

"Yeah..." Roy said, "My name is Roy Harper….and I just moved in today."

"Nice to meet you Roy!" The young man spoke, "My name is Eric Sanders, and this is my baby sister Lilly!"

Lilly reached her hand out to shake Roy's. The car mechanic couldn't help but smile at her cuteness. She had soft brown hair in pigtails and was wearing a pink shirt and jeans. She spoke to him. "Wow! You really kicked butt! Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"I used to get beat up too..." Roy said as he started to walk back to his apartment. "But I had a friend show me how to dish it back to the people who really deserve it."

"Hey wait a minute!" Eric called out to Roy as he began to go back upstairs. Roy stopped and turned around, "Me and Lilly….we live in that apartment next door to you….If you uh, need anything….don't be afraid to ask! Maybe we'll have you over for dinner some time."

"That'd be nice." Roy said as he continued to walk up the stairs. Roy was doing his best to smolder the rush of adrenaline he had received from roughing up those jerks. Everything in him wanted to run back out into other alleys in Paragon and find more thugs that needed roughing up and give it to them. But Harper knew that if he was going to have any chance of a normal life, he'd need to leave his Vigilante ways behind. This was a one time fluke, and not something he planned on repeating.

Or so he thought.


	2. Sin and the City

_**A/N:**_ _I forgot to give a few words at the start of my story! Thanks for reading chapter one and coming back to two! This is my first Arrow fanfiction and I hope you enjoy it. I treasure your reviews and they keep me going in the writing process, so please drop one if you don't mind. Also, it goes without saying but I'll say it...I don't own Arrow or Roy Harper. Enjoy!_

 **Chapter Two**

 **Sin and the City**

Roy stood quietly on the subway into the city, barely staying awake as it was very early, but such is the life of someone who had a 7 am shift at the car shop. He was definitely not a morning person, and every morning part of him very much missed his previous job at the Verdant Night Club in Star City.

Roy took this time to watch the other folks on the subway. Paragon was very metropolitan, and the citizens were always buzzing around pushing through each other and in their own little worlds. Roy looked as businessmen spoke loudly into their cell phones, or homeless people slept on the chairs, or women sat and read magazines. Everyone was minding their own business, and Roy preferred it that way. As his eyes wandered the shuttle, they stopped on one familiar face. She smiled at him with her arrogant and mischievous grin.

"Sin?" Roy spoke, never in a million years thinking he would see his old friend on this train.

"What's up Abrocrombie?" Sin said as pushed through a couple strangers to stand next to him. She had on her same leather jacket, black shirt, and leather pants as always. Roy was beginning to think those were the only clothes she owned. "Long time no see?"

"What are you doing here?" Roy asked, lowering his voice hoping that nobody heard them. They were fine, nobody was listening.

"Me? Oh I'm just taking some vacation time to visit a friend here in Paragon. Now I can say I'm visiting two friends. I'd ask what you are doing, but I already know. It's all making sense now. Roy, the Arrow, sent to prison then died in jail, but here you are….You and your friends faked your death didn't they? Good job, man….everyone bought it! So if you're here...who's the guy in the green hood who shoots arrows back home?"

"Shhh…." Roy hushed Sin, as he looked around to see if anyone caught what she had said. Again, nobody was paying attention. "First of all, I am not the Arrow...it was just...oh forget about it."

"I always figured you were the red guy anyway." Sin said with a shrug, "Hey man, you picked a good city to move to. They could use a vigilante. This place is real messed up. Drugs, gangs, you name it….kind of like home, right?"

"No, I'm done with all that…" Roy responded, "I'm looking to have a normal life...under the radar, and without any trouble."

"Whatever." Sin shrugged as the subway stopped, "That sounds really boring. But hey, it's your life! Well, this is my stop. What's your address man? I'll come by tonight and show you your new city. Paragon's nightlife does it big, yo!"

Harper wrote his address on a scratch piece of paper he had in his jacket pocket and handed it to Sin as she exited the subway. Despite the fact that she has the world's biggest mouth, Roy was overjoyed to have seen his old friend.

At work, Roy had finally built his rep as a solid car repairman so the other workers would leave him alone. For his first week, Alan insisted on always having one of the veteran mechanics assisting Roy, but they all had taken note that he was good with cars, and now trusted him to do his own business. Roy was at peace under a car doing repairs, he was able to enter his own little world and think about nothing more then the task at hand.

His peace was soon to be interrupted by the boss, when suddenly all throughout the car shop Alan's booming voice was heard. "All right everyone, stop what you're doing and get out here right Now!" The former military man's voice was loud enough to wake the dead.

Roy fell in line with the rest of the mechanics as they all came to the center of the garage, none knowing why they had to stop working. Alan opened up the garage door, and almost blinded by the light, Roy could see two figures entering the car shop.

Immediately he recognized the smaller one as Eric, his nerdy neighbor who he had saved from being beaten up a week ago. The other was a tall man with long sleek jet black hair tied in a pony tail. He wore a fine black suit, that probably cost more then the garage they were standing in. Behind the two men, came a few other men rolling in a very strange looking engine. Roy noticed that this engine looked as if it was from the future or some kind of alien technology. Inside the tubes that made up most the engine was sky blue energy that swirled and sparked around. All the mechanics were absolutely fascinated.

"If you got a working TV then you know who this man is." Alan spoke to his employees as he pointed to the sharply dressed man. "Derek Widener, CEO of Widener Corp and one of the most powerful men in Paragon. Remember this day, boys, cause it ain't every day someone like this comes slumming it with folks like us, am I right?"

"I am just a man..." the billionaire CEO's voice was smooth and full of= false modesty. "Just a man whose company has just created the single greatest invention of the 21st century. Fellow car enthusiasts, I give you the Siliconian Engine. Now, I could tell you that this wonderful device runs off virtually no gas, and completely by self sustaining energy but that may not catch your attention. For men like you, and honestly myself as well, I am very excited to tell you that with this engine your cars will be able to faster then ever. I hate to put numbers on such magnificent science, but I believe we could call this engine a V100 engine. It's safer, cleaner, and faster, then any engine that is currently on the market."

The garage was filled with awe and side conversations of disbelief, as Alan raised his hand to address his workers once more. "Listen up! Mr. Widener brought his tech guy here to straighten you all out on how to install these things in the cars. Let me be real with you all. These engines are going to make us a lot of money. Thanks to my military connections, I was fortunate to get our little car shop on the list of Widener Corp's trial run with these engines. They will be expensive, people will buy them, they will be worth it, and more people will want to buy the engines. Needless to say, this is a big deal...so don't screw it up!"

Roy was the first to walk over to Eric, who smiled warmly at him when he recognized his neighbor. "Small world eh?" Eric said to Roy.

"Wow, so you work for the biggest corporation in Paragon." Roy replied, impressed.

"And the sixth biggest in the world." Eric corrected, a habit he could never break from. "It's a good job."

"You'd think with a boss like that you could afford a better apartment then where you live." Roy responded with a smile.

"I use a lot of money to take care of my younger sister's magnet school and health bills." Eric replied, "By living in a cheaper place, we can eat better you know? Well, I better get to explaining to everyone how to install these engines. It's really cool, I think you'll really like it!"

"Whatever you say." Roy replied with a shrug, not nearly as fascinated with technology as his geeky friend was.

After a long day's worth of learning how to install the engines, repairing more cars, and working hard, Roy returned to his home to rest and watch the few channels that his TV had to offer. As he sat, enjoying his boredom, there was a hard knock at his door. Roy stood up and went to answer the door.

"Yo, you ready to go?" Sin pushed through the door as Roy only slightly opened it. She looked around the room and at the bed and turned to Roy. "Wow, you've really gotten back into slumming it since Thea dumped you eh? We need to get you a new girl….hey maybe we will tonight!"

"Where we going?" Roy asked, still adjusting to Sin standing in his apartment.

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Sin rolled his eyes at Roy's spaciness. "I'm giving you the tour of Paragon, Sin style! Serious bro, this city's the shit!"

"If you say so." Roy replied, never as enthusiastic as Sin about anything. "I got nothing else to do!"

The two went out and Roy had his first fun night out in Paragon. Sin took him to a fantastic barbecue joint not far from where his apartment was, and then they went to a loud and hopping night club and danced and drank. Both enjoyed some beverages, but both had their drunkard days in the teenage years so getting plastered had completely lost it's luster since then. As they were sitting at a table in the club, Sin told Roy she had yet to take him to the coolest part of Paragon's night life. Upon leaving the night club, Sin caught them a cab and gave the driver the address she wanted to go.

The driver took them far into the other side of the city and drove under some highways to some other roads. As they went under a bridge, even with all windows up, Roy began hearing incredibly loud techno music. The two friends got out of the cab to see a raging scene with a big crowd. Sin had taken Roy to the drag racing scene in Paragon. In their earlier years, both were pretty into racing themselves, and so she knew he'd appreciate ending the night watching a good race or two.

The cars did not disappoint. There were several muscle cars that reminded Roy of the one he had back in Star City, and there were also nicer cars. Sin and Roy found themselves a great spot to watch the cars as the race began to start.

"Yo, check out that blue one over there." Sin said as she pointed at the car. "Just watch it go when they start. If you were a betting man I'd tell you to put all the money you have on that sucker!"

When the race started, there was no competition. The blue mustang jetted off faster then any of the other vehicles. It was finished before they were even halfway complete. When the car made it to to the finish line the driver got out of the vehicle and raised his hands in victory as the crowd went wild. Roy recognized him as one of the thugs that he got in a fight with a week ago.

"Who is that guy?" Roy asked.

"I don't know." Sin said as she applauded for him, "But based on that leather jacket he's wearing with the wolf head on it...He's part of the Wolf Pack Gang. They're the most dangerous guys in Paragon. You don't want to mess with them, they run the slums."

"I bet..." Roy said, looking back at the guy's mustang. "If I didn't know any better I'd say they were using one of those fancy engines we got in today at the shop...but they haven't even hit the market yet, so there is no way that these thugs would have gotten a chance to steal them yet."

The two stayed and watched more races as the night drug on. Not to far from where they were standing, in the middle of the crowd, in a carnival tent, Derek Widener sat in the shadows with Alan Trevit, and the two looked out at the drag racing scene.

"It was a good idea to put these engines to the test out here." Derek said to Alan, as as both men smoked cigars.

"Sure, a few people had to die in the process." Alan said smiling, "But it's the hazards of the job right?"

Alan Trevit emerged from the and looked into the distance and caught sight of his new employee Roy Harper. He grinned to himself thinking he might have a possible new partner for his side business, which was actually his real business.


	3. The Fast and Furious

**Chapter Three**

 **The Fast and the Furious**

Roy was moving slower the next day at work. He didn't come in from the races until three in the morning, and of course he had to be back back at Alan's Automotives at seven fixing up cars. He could definitely handle this feeling though. Surviving on four hours of sleep reminded him of his time as Arsenal. He'd spend all day and late night stocking the club and bartending, and then he would spend all _later_ night and early morning chasing down bad guys and putting the hurt on them.

"Harper!" Alan's voice once again broke into Roy's thoughts, as he heard his boss's voice nearby. Roy looked up to see Alan walking towards him, and the car he was working on the interior of. "Sitting in the drivers seat like that is a good look on you."

"Um...thank you?" Roy responded, having no idea what Alan meant.

"Listen, I saw you out at the drag race last night." Alan said, not lowering his voice at all. He didn't care who heard him talk about wherever he was, that was just Alan's style.

Roy on the other hand didn't know anything about his new boss, and worried that being spotted at such a place may look really bad. "I uh...yeah, my friend was….it's just."

"Hey, don't worry bout it." Alan put his hand up, interrupting whatever excuse Roy was coming up with. "When I was your age, I was no saint. I was wondering if you'd like to make a little more cash on the side."

"You were betting on the races last night, weren't you?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Alan replied. "Anyway, something happened and they need one more driver in the race. It so happens a buddy of mine has a car he can enter, we just need another driver. It's a real sweet car too, red and black, and it's insides are unlike anything you've ever seen. It doesn't just purr like a kitten, it's more of a roars like a lion, ya know what I mean?"

Roy laughed nervously, not really getting the joke or what Alan was saying. He knew he probably should have declined the offer, but something about seeing the races last night really made Roy miss the old days of street racing as a kid. What's the harm and doing one more? He nodded as Alan was still laughing at his joke and patting Roy on the back. "Sure, I'll be there again tonight."

"That's the spirit!" Alan said as he backed away from the car Roy was working on, "You're going to love it pal. Welcome to the streets of Paragon!"

'Whatever." Roy thought as he got back to work fixing the car. He couldn't figure Alan out. How could a straight lace military guy like that be into racing cars? Oh well, it wasn't like he was dealing drugs or anything.

That night, Roy got a taxi and drove to the other side of Paragon where Sin had taken the night before. This time the man didn't just watch from the sidelines, but he walked straight through the crowds to where the cars were all lining up. There was no sight of Alan, but a couple of guys that Roy recognized from the car shop appeared from the crowd and walked up to him.

"Yo Roy!" One of them said, "The boss told us you'd be here. He had some business to attend but wanted us to show you to your car for the night."

"You're going to love it, bro." The other mechanic said as he put his hand on Roy's back and the two led him to a beautiful red and black 2016 mustang. "It's beautiful inside and out."

"Listen, we put a little something special in the car..." One of the mechanics spoke, as he hit the hood of the mustang. "Billy and I were real curious how installing those new engines from the other day, so we figured what the hell right? Anyway. In your car, there is a knob with a red button….press that red button when you're ready for some speed, and trust me you won't regret it!"

"Alan's not just into betting on racing..." Roy thought to himself, "He's been supplying some of the cars with his new tech to stack the deck so he'd make more money on his gambling….so much for him being a stand up guy."

Roy made it this far though, he knew he'd have to race, so he got into the beautiful car and adjusted the seat. He looked down to his right and saw the red button. Roy's eyes jumped back up when he saw the typical hot girl in not very much clothing make her way to the center of the road. She raised both her hands, one holding a blue bandanna. When she threw her arms down, Roy knew the race was on.

He slammed on the accelerator and from the start was speeding past many of the other racers. Within moments the only car that was keeping up with him was the blue mustang from the night before. Roy's pride got the best of him, and he wanted nothing more then to waste this jerk in the other driver's seat who put the beating on Eric the week before. The two cars were even, and weaving around each other at each turn. Roy looked into the other car's window to see the thug looking down at what Roy assumed was a red button of his own.

"It makes sense that this car his car is so much faster then the others..." Roy thought to himself, "If he has one of these new engines in it as well. He probably has the ability to go faster too. I'm not going to let him do it first though!" Without any more thinking, Roy pushed the red button and screamed with joy as his car picked it up and went over 300 miles per hour.

After he made it to the finish line, Roy looked in his dashboard to see the other car also increase in speed. The other driver however was not as coordinated behind a wheel as Roy, and with all the extra speed, the thug lost control and hit his car into side wall of a tunnel. Roy pushed open his door quickly, and ran to the wreck.

Harper struggled to open the car door, as it now was crushed tightly into the rest of the smushed car. He managed to open it most of the way, and he pulled the bloodied gang member out of the car. Roy smelled the gas and smoke from the car, and knew an explosion would be coming soon. He pulled the other man to a safe distance from the car. And looked down at the hurting gangster.

"Hey man, are you okay?" Roy said, "We'll get you some help."

"No..." The man stammered, overwhelmed with pain, "If the boss brought in another car with the V100 engine, then I'm a dead man anyway. I crashed my car to make it happen on my terms."

"You did that...on purpose?" Roy asked in shock, "But why?"

"Nevermind that, yo." The dying thug continued. "You're him right? The guy that stopped us last week from beating up that scientist kid more? Yeah…you might want to go check on him, cause the boys are going to go rough him up even more….it's bad too, they've got orders to…."

Suddenly Roy heard a gun shot, and the thug died instantly. The car mechanic jolted around quickly to see a large man in a black leather jacket wearing a blue wolf mask. Roy was pretty sure he was looking at the gang leader of the wolf pack.

"He was one of mine," The masked man spoke, "And he was about dead anyway….I was doing him a favor."

Without having the chance to object, the brute raised Roy's arm, as the crowd cheered wildly for him.

"Your winner for the night!" He announced to the crowd. Then the gang leader spoke softer to Roy, "Stick with us kid, and the streets will make you a rich man."

"Screw you!" Roy said as he pulled his arm away from the grab and pushed the gang leader back. "I'm out of here."

Roy ran back to the car that he had used and jumped in it, hit the red button, and sped back home down the roads, dodging cars as he rushed to get to Eric's apartment. If what that thug was saying was true, Roy's neighbor didn't have much time left. As the car zoomed down the road, Roy ignored the police sirens that were firing up and chasing after him. He knew they'd follow him to the apartment, and then they'd be able to apprehend the thugs.

The mustang brakes screeched as Roy swiveled into the alleyway, parked the car and jumped out of it. He looked up to where Eric's apartment was and saw the door kicked in and heard lots of commotion. The former vigilante rushed up the stairs into the apartment. Roy knew that he had to do something, he couldn't wait for the police. If he did, there may be nobody left in the home for them to save.

Roy busted into the apartment to see a couple gang members once again beating Eric down, this time with a baseball bat. Roy jumped over a table, twirled the man around with the baseball bat and socked him in the face. He then kicked the other thug in the stomach and punched him hard in the face.

"You again!" One of the ruffians growled as he fell to the ground, "We thought we might see you. That's why we brought friends!"

Out of the two rooms came six more thugs. Roy grabbed the baseball bat from the fallen member of the Wolf Pack and started to fight off the other gangsters. He hit one in the face, knocking him out, and then hit another in the stomach. As his attention was focused on those two, a third of the six smacked him in the face with brass knuckles. Then two more began to hold and pummel him. Before Roy knew it, he was on the ground being kicked repetitively by the Wolf Pack.

"We ain't your run of the mill thugs!" One of them said, "You mess with one wolf, you gonna get the entire pack, Bitch!"

"Everyone hold up!" Yet another gang member's voice was heard from the far room in the apartment. "Keep the noise down, I want Nerd Boy to see this."

Roy's beatdown halted, as the gang members held him down. Roy looked up, through the blood that was gushing through his forehead at the last gang member that appeared. He was dragging Eric's baby sister Emily into the center of the room. The thug kicked the coffee table out of the way and threw Emily before her battered brother.

"OK Sanders, we warned you when you said you wanted out what that would mean." The thug snarled as he pulled his gun out.

"No please stop!" Eric started to tear up and his face became as pale as a ghost. "I'll go back to work, I promise. Tell your boss….tell Timber Wolf that I got his message loud and clear."

"Unfortunately for you the Boss don't need you no more." The thug spoke as he cocked the gun and pointed it at Emily's head. "But people gotta know they can't just up and leave our business whenever they want. So we're sending a message to everyone else, unfortunately you aren't going to like the message to much."

"Don't! Roy yelled as he was being pushed down by four thugs. It was to late though, the gun shot was heard, and the little girl fell the floor dead. The gang member then pointed his gun to Eric, but was interupted by the sound of sirens in the background.

"This little bitch brought the cops!" One of the men holding down Roy yelled. "We gotta go!"

The thug with the gun turned his aim from Eric to a nearby window and show it three times, breaking the glass. All the Wolf Pack members jumped out the window and climbed down to escape. Roy staggered up and walked over to check on Eric, who was holding his lifeless sister's body, sobbing over her.

The rage Roy felt as he looked at this tragic scene rivaled that of the Mirakuru rage he felt years ago. Something had to be done. These cold blooded killers couldn't get away with this. Roy wasn't going to let them. For tonight, he was done being a bystander and a victim.


	4. You Have Failed This City

**Chapter Four**

 **You Have Failed This City**

Roy entered his apartment and punched a hole in his shabby wall. The trauma of watching that little girl die was fresh in him, as he beat against his desk and kicked his chair down. Roy wanted so hard to find those responsible, and beat their faces in. He needed names, he needed a plan, he needed a location.

At once there was a knock on the door. Roy tried to ignore it as he looked through his stuff for any kind of weapon he might have possessed. He had nothing, because he was so certain he had given this life up. The knocking persisted, and then Roy heard a familiar voice.

"Roy open up, I know your in there!" Sin yelled from the other side of the door.

Roy opened the door to see Sin bust in the room, caring a medium sized duffle bag. She looked at him and shook her head. "Damn, I heard what happened on the NEWS about the little girl and thought you might have tried something. Looks like you got your ass handed to you."

"I couldn't save her..." Roy said, as Sin got a wet rag and started to help him tend to some of his visible wounds. "It burns me up that trash like those Wolf Pack thugs run wild around here. Eric and Lily...they are good people. That sweet girl didn't deserve any of this! And Eric he was trying to get out of whatever they were doing….But they wouldn't even let him. And then when he tried to stay in, they killed her anyway."

"If it bothers you so much." Sin spoke as she continued to dab the bruise on his head. "Do something about it. You know, go all Arrow on them."

"I plan on it...first I need names, and a place...and then it's on. I figure I'll start with that big guy I saw at the street race….Timber Wolf or something like that."

"Are you kidding me?" Sin asked as she took the rag away and looked at Roy, like he was the dumbest person on earth. "I thought you knew? Damn, you really are fresh meat here in Paragon. Everyone knows Timber Wolf is your new boss, Alan Trevit. He's the leader of the Wolf Pack, and rules the streets. Nobody messes with him, not even the cops. He has to many connections, and from what I hear he has no problem wasting people...even children."

Roy's eyes widened as soon as he realized what all had been going on. Alan was Timber Wolf, and the leader of the Wolf Pack. He ran a car shop and used it to get access to the V100 engines so he could get them onto the streets for his street racing hussle. He had muscle, and he was getting money too. He had no regard who got in his way. He must have had Eric working behind the scenes to fix up the engines in the cars. And then when he didn't want to anymore, Timber Wolf sent his lackeys to do what they do best. Roy got angrier just thinking about it...Alan had to be stopped.

"So that's the name..." Roy said as he jumped off the table he was sitting on. "And I bet I have a great idea of the place. It's time for Timber Wolf to get his."

"Hold on a sec." Sin said to Harper. "Aren't you forgetting something? Don't you have to suit up or get your quiver or something?"

"Yeah, I left all that in Star City." Roy said, feeling a bit like a fool now that he could have really used his tools.

"Yeah, I thought you'd say that." Sin said as she pulled out her duffle bag, "Which is why I got you an early birthday gift."

Roy unzipped the bag to see a red quiver full of arrows, and a black long bow. He looked at Sin, at first incredibly impressed and grateful. Then he gave her a quizzical look and asked, "Do I want to know who you stole this from?"

"Stole!?" Sin exclaimed, somewhat sarcastically. "No man, I bought from a store….with money I may have swiped from a few rich snobs off main street today."

"It'll work." Roy said as he threw his red hoodie on and attached the quiver to his back.

"One more thing…." Sin spoke as she reached into her leather jacket's pocket. "I actually got this one with my own money, I figured it might help you get into the ass kicking mood."

Out of her pocket, Sin pulled out a red leather eye mask similar to what Roy used to have with his arsenal costume. Roy smiled gratefully as he grabbed the mask from her and ran out the door.

Meanwhile at the automotive repair shop, Alan looked at one of the V100 engines on his worker bench with pride. He was going to make so much money off these little babies, and the work being done on cars was only the beginning. For years Alan had been running the city from the shadows, but soon he and his business partner would be out in the open and be seen as gods among men. Alan smiled as he realized the most beautiful part of their diabolical plan….the fact that people would actually be _grateful_ for the tyrants to lead them.

Alan stopped working as he heard his garage door to the outside open. Somebody sure had a big set on them to be barging into _His_ workshop at this hour in the evening. There was a spare right side car mirror on the table next to the V100, so Alan took a chance to look at it to see who was behind him. The figure was in a red hoodie, wore a mask around his eyes, and was pointing a bow and arrow at him.

"Alan Trrevit..." Roy spoke sternly. "You have Failed This City."

Alan turned around, looking quite confused as he talked to his intruder. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? What kind of weirdo just waltzes into someone's garage and calls them a failure? Who are you trying to be kid? Halloween's over kid...I don't know what you're on right now, but I'm going to make you wish you were never here!"

"I'm not on anything." Roy answered, "The days of you running these streets into the ground is over. No more shady car business, no more illegal deals selling high tech engines. And no more killing innocent girls."

"Ohhh you're him!" Alan now understood what was going on. "Yeah, my boys told me about some weirdo in a red jacket that was hanging around the Sanders family like some kind of guardian angel. I heard they gave you a pretty good ass whooping earlier tonight too. You're a special kind of stupid to be showing up here after the night you've had."

"Let me show you what a real beating is." Roy growled back at his enemy as he drew back the string on his bow."

"Show them instead." Alan replied cooly, as he snapped his fingers.

Out of all the rooms and shadows came several men in Wolf Pack leather jackets with various weapons. Some had brass knuckles, long chains, crow bars, and large wrenches. Without a moment's hesitation, Roy began shooting arrows at the thugs, taking them out one by one rapidly. There were dozens of them though, so it wasn't long before a few made their way closer to the archer.

Roy used his bow now as a melee weapon and swung it around, knocking each gangster hard in the front or back of the head, knocking them out. More and more gang members approached trying to take down the vigilante, but they were all sorely outclassed. It wasn't long before Roy had either shot or beaten down all of Alan's gang. He turned his attention back to the leader, who once again had his back turned.

"You know..." Alan spoke as he pulled out a large box under his work bench and opened it up. Inside was his wolf mask, and an assault rifle. "If you want something right." Suddenly, Alan put on the mask and turned and began opening fire. "You do it yourself!"

Roy quickly jumped over a car and ducked under it, taking cover from the flurry of bullets that was coming his way. The shots stopped and Roy heard the Timber Wolf's large combat boots walking around the garage, looking for his prey.

"You got skills, I'll give that to you, kid." Alan spoke as he continued to look in the shadows for Roy. "But I got ten years of special forces under my belt. What do you have, some merit badge in archery?"

Roy took this opportunity to leap up and shoot Alan in the shoulder with an arrow, and at the same time Roy climbed up a nearby chain to hide in the ceiling to wait for another moment to attack.

"Who the hell uses arrows anyway?" Alan grunted, as he winced in pain and broke off the end of the arrow. "Have you tried bullets? They're a lot more fun!"

Roy hopped down from the ceiling and lunged at Alan hoping to take him off guard. Unfortunately, close combat was exactly what the Timber Wolf was hoping for. Alan dropped his assault rifle, whirled around and put both arms up blocking Roy's attack with his bow. He then grabbed the bow and threw it out of Roy's hands. He started to pummel Roy in the chest with massive haymaker blows. Each spot he landed a punch on was also a place that Roy had received previous injuries on earlier that night, so he was taking serious damage.

After knocking him around for a few minutes, Timber Wolf grabbed Roy by the head and tossed him up into the air, sending him straight into the side of a car. The impact was so severe that it dented the car door. Roy fought to stay conscious as his vision became dizzy. In his distorted vision, he saw Alan pick up the black long bow and pull an arrow out of one of his thug's leg. The Wolf Pack leader pointed the arrow at Roy and pulled back the string, ready to end him.

"See? You're not so tough without your bow and arrows, now are you kid?" Timber Wolf said with a villainous grin on his face. "Say hi to that little girl for me please, and tell her that her brother will be joining her soon."

In his delusional state, Roy's mind flash backed to a moment two years ago when Oliver was training him to be Arsenal. The two were sparing in the hideout and Roy hit Ollie's bow out of his hand and then grabbed it, and pointed an arrow at him. Roy remember being overjoyed for a moment, because he thought that he had finally bested his mentor. Oliver in one move jumped over Roy and hit him in the back of the head, causing him to fall forward. The Green Arrow caught his protegee as he fell and whispered into his ears.

"Always remember one thing Roy. I don't need the bow, and soon. Neither will you. It's a tool, not a crutch."

Roy's mind came back to the present, as he realized he was staring down an arrow an imitate death. Roy also noticed that Alan wore a pistol as a side arm, that he had not yet withdrew. In one quick motion, Roy stood up and jumped on top of the dented car. And then he did a front flip over Timber Wolf, grabbed his side arm, and shot him four times in the leg with it. He then pistol whipped Alan in the face, knocking him out. Roy then threw the gun down and picked up his bow, as he spoke to the unconscious villain.

"You're right though. " He said, "Guns are pretty fun, but I'll stick with bows."

After tying up all the gang members and Timber Wolf, Roy called the police. Before he made that call, he phoned Sin and asked her to drive the car he stole from Timber Wolf to the shop. When the police would arrive, they would have Timber Wolf in custody, plus they would have the stolen engine and proof that it had been put into one of his cars. That, along with any testimony of murder that Eric gave later would be more then enough to keep Alan and his thugs locked away in prison for a long time.

Roy went home after a long night, feeling more alive then he had since he had given up the life of a hero in Star City. He hated how all of these events had gone down, but it felt good to be dishing out justice to those that needed it the most. Roy tried to find himself, by hiding himself, and now he was ready to admit, who it was he really was. He was….No not Arsenal, Roy thought as he was going home...He needed a new name. Something that was more fitting. After all, he was no longer a weapon in Oliver's Arsenal, he was someone else….he was something else.

 **A/N:** _The last chapter will be coming really soon! It will end this book with a bit of a cliff hanger leading to another potentially. I hope you have enjoyed Red Arrow so far and I'd love your feedback!_


	5. The Rise of the Red Arrow

**Chapter Five**

 **The Rise of the Red Arrow**

Lilly Sanders funeral was a week after her death. Roy felt he needed to be there not just to pay his respect to Lilly, but to be there for his new friend Eric as well. The service was small, and Eric looked as if was on a distant world for the entire funeral. Roy understood why, grieving was an awful thing. After the service, Roy approached Eric and spoke.

"Hey man….how are you holding up?" He asked.

"I….I quit my job yesterday." Eric replied, not looking Roy in the face, as if his mind was still processing everything that was going on.

"That seems...extreme." Roy replied, "Why'd you do that?"

"The night Lilly was shot, after you left….I couldn't sleep. I was just, so angry, and obsessed with wanting to get back at Alan Trevit. I mean, of course he was the person who called the hit, the Wolf Pack were all his lackeys. I felt so useless, I couldn't save my sister, and I couldn't save myself. So I obsessed over him, and google searched the Timber Wolf...and then I may have hacked into some more secure files about Alan Trevit and I learned something..."

"What's that?" Roy asked.

Eric continued, sniffling up some tears. "His dad was Morty Trevit, and his mom was Clarissa Trevit. The thing is, Clarissa eventually changed her last name when she remarried Cornelius Widener which means..."

"Derek Widener and Alan Trevit were step brothers." Roy finished Eric's sentence. "And you think..."

"I think Derek was working with Alan to supply him what he needed for the V100 engines, obviously. But less obvious, and probably something I'll never be able to prove...I think Derek was privy to all of the Timber Wolf's crimes and underground activity. I think they were working together. And if what the Wolf Pack wanted me to do with the V100's was part of a greater plan by Derek….well, that was no company I wanted any part of."

"What is it they wanted you to do with the tech?" Roy asked.

"Nothing good, that's for sure." Eric replied, as he walked away to say good bye to his sister for the last time before she would be put in the ground.

As Roy was walking back to his car, he looked in the distance and saw Sin standing beside a tree smiling at him. She motioned her head in a way that told him to come see her. Roy shook his head with a smile, she had such a weird habit of appearing in the weirdest places.

"So way to go on saving the day and all." Sin said to Roy, as he approached her. "Do you think anyone spotted you?"

"Nah." Roy replied, "Without any kind of real costume, I thought it was best to stay in the shadows. This city isn't used to masked heroes like Star City was."

"Maybe we can change that." Sin said with a smile, "I might have called a mutual friend who knew someone that knew someone in the leather crime fighting clothing business….and that person may have whipped up a special something for you."

Sin pulled out a gift box that clearly had clothing in it. Roy opened it up to see a sleeveless black tunic with red streaks on it, and black leather pants. There was also a black leather mask of much better quality then the one that Sin had given to him earlier.

"No hood?" Roy asked with a smile.

Sin shrugged as she responded, "I always thought the hoods were geeky. Besides, this city should see clearly the guy with a bow and arrow out there kicking ass. It will make people behave more. I did think the name Arsenal was pretty cool though. Give some more time and maybe I'll come up with a cape with a big A on it or something."

"Um definitely not..." Roy smiled, humored by the idea of a cape. Then he thought of the code name. "And, no on the name Arsenal. That was me in Star City, but I think here I should go for something a little different. I was thinking, Red Arrow."

"How very original." Sin said sarcastically, and then she put her hand on Roy's shoulder and spoke genuinely. "But how very fitting."

"So what are you up to now?" Roy asked as he took the gift box and put the top back on it. "Going back to Star City?"

"Nope." Sin said with a wry smile, "I think I may stick around here for a while. I have this other friend in the area that has a nasty habit of getting his ass kicked. I think I may need to keep an eye on him."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate it." Roy replied warmly, and then he remembered something else he needed to do in the near future. "Hey Sin, I'll catch up with you later, I have to go somewhere real quick.

Meanwhile, a few hours later, at the top of Widener Corp, the tallest building in Paragon, Derek Widener standing by his desk, was watching the NEWS in his office privately on his giant wall sized HD TV.

"The criminal Timber Wolf has finally been apprehended, after years being the kingpin of crime in Paragon." The newscaster spoke, as Alan Trivet's face was plastered on the screen. "His involvement in illegal street racing and vehicular warfare combined with the murder of Lilly Sanders was more then enough for the authorities to finally have a strong basis to throw him behind bars. There are stories floating out there about a lone individual dressed in red who single handedly stopped Alan and his Wolf Pack, but none of these details have been confirmed.

Suddenly, the TV shut off as all power in Widener's office suddenly disappeared. Derek stood very still, as the moonlight cast a shadow of a figure behind him holding a bow. Widener spoke calmly, not at all wanting to show any signs of weakness to his enemy.

"We're a little far from Star City, aren't we?" Derek spoke. "And what's with the new look? Tell me, do you have a different look for every city you visit? Honestly, before last week I'd say I am a big fan...you're shorter then you have looked on TV though."

"I'm not him." Roy spoke, with a voice masker on, "You can call me the Red Arrow. I want you to know I know that you were directly involved with Alan Trevit. I want you to know that I know you were the brains of the operations, regardless of what he thought. I hope that you take the current events in Paragon as a sign to lay off whatever it is you are planning. In the probable event you don't, I want you to know that I'll be sticking around Paragon to keep an eye on you...and I'll be ready to take you down."

"Take me down?" Derek whirled around in rage at the audacity of his masked visitor, "You couldn't possibly come close to..."

Before he could fully turn around, the lights flashed back on and Derek was alone in the room again. He shook his head in anger, still annoyed at the archer who had single handed thwarted his plans. Derek knew for things to progress, he'd need to take out this "Red Arrow." The CEO pulled out his phone and dialed a particular number.

"Yes, this is Derek." He spoke into to the phone, "It's time to accelerate our time table. Yes the Siliconian V100 Engines were a tremendous success as an energy source. It's time we work on how to weaponize them...and of course, you know what else I want us to be doing. Don't you worry about what happened on the NEWS. He won't be a problem for much longer, I have another resource looking into it."

Roy Harper was on the subway heading home. For the first time since he had left Star City, he felt like he could honestly say that statement, _"head home_ ". Like he always did, Roy took a moment to watch the random strangers in the subway. The people on their phones, the folks reading the paper, homeless individuals napping. The subway was full of tons of people paying him no mind, and he loved that about it.

Suddenly, Roy's eyes fell upon a particular person on the other side of the Subway who didn't even notice him. Roy thought to himself, "Why does that guy look familiar?"

His brain flashed back to back when he first traveled with Oliver in Arrow business. This was when he had been injected with the mirakuru and was told to stay with Arrow and do nothing but watch. They had broke into the Merlin mansion and were looking for something, Roy couldn't remember what. He ran across a picture and remember saying to Oliver. "Hey wasn't this that kid who died? Did you know him?" And Oliver's response was, "He was a friend."

Then in the present Roy knew exactly who this person was, as unbelievable as it sounded.

"That's Tommy Merlin!"

 **A/N:** _Thanks so much for reading! I hope you had as much fun with this story as I did. Please review it and let me know what you think, or if you'd like me to do another Red Arrow piece. I have a second story in mind, but I am waiting to see how this one does before I put in the work in creating another. A gentle reminder...I still don't own Arrow._


End file.
